We are almost there! But you don’t what to put off your readers by some unnecessary spelling or grammatical errors. Your readers might get the impression that you didn’t prepare the document with much care, and that is not an impression you want to make. For those of you who have not quite reached the status of a spelling and grammar god or goddess, there are some useful and even enjoyable books to help you improve your writing.

In this topic:

• Spelling
• Grammar

Correct spelling is important because a spelling error can be very distracting for readers. Use the spell checker in your word processor and also a dictionary—either paper or on the web—to check your spelling. Be aware that a spelling checker will see two errors in "IT Services uses webauthoring," but will not see anything wrong when you, for example, write weather for whether, adopt for adapt or access for excess. (A very good web site to learn more about these "notorious confusables" is listed in the grammar section.) The following sentence illustrates why you still need to check your own text—or have someone else do it!

"Their our know miss steaks in this sent ants."

Use the MU Standard Glossary of Terms when in doubt about a technical term. Check the specific capitalization rules or conventions of the software or product you are describing, and refer to Topic 4 for spelling of application interface elements and key combinations in computer procedures.

Available dictionaries on the Internet:

• Common abbreviations used at Miami University are listed in the Standard Glossary of Terms at
  http://www.muohio.edu/mcis/glossary/
• The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary is available at
  http://www.m-w.com/
  
• More dictionaries of the English language and many foreign languages are available at
  http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/diction.html

Grammar

If you are unsure about good grammar, you need to discipline yourself to check with a resource that answers your questions. There are many web sites devoted to helping sort out common mistakes. Some are useful for reference, others are fun to study bits of grammar and practice your learning in grammar quizzes. Depending on the type of questions you have, choose a reference you can consult as you write. For example:

• University of Chicago Grammar Resources on the Web with lots of references to grammar sites is a good place to start reading.
  http://www-college.uchicago.edu/writing-
  program/resources/grammar.htm
• The Guide to Grammar and Writing of the Capital Community-Technical College discusses "notorious confusables" such as accept and except, the use of numbers and lists, commas, placement of modifiers, and much more. You can also test your new skills in interactive quizzes.
  http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/original.htm
• On-Line English Grammar discusses adjectives, adverbs, nouns, possessives, determiners, pronouns, and verbs. http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/toc.cfm
• Did you ever have a big dog teach you grammar? In Big Dog’s Grammar, a bare bones guide to English you can have this extraordinary and funny teacher. http://gabiscott.com/bigdog/index.htm
• Grammar Slammer is a hypertext help file. It discusses many grammar issues, including "common mistakes." http://englishplus.com/grammar/gramdemo.htm
• Especially for business and technical writing, use the Reader-Based Writing Style Guide.
  http://www.kanten.com/styleguide/frames1.html
• Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., gives 18 rules and principles for good writing. Easy to read and lots of examples. http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html